My Family and I are moving to Houghton, need advice!"

I thought Lou Hotlz was posting about moving to Texas. Houghton, we tave a problem. 

Congrats on your move.  I'd suggest purchasing a 4-wheel drive vehicle if you don't already have one.  Also brushing up on your euchre skills may score points with the locals.

in town will be much easier to deal with for your wife and kids, driving in particular.  get a 4wd if you don't already have one.  there are many forrestry/logging jobs in the area, and that also might be a place to start for employment.  i have not worked with the wood mills in the area in a while, but there were a number of them that are relatively close by.  the tribe could conceivably be hiring too, though for what i don't know.  

embrace the snow and enjoy it.  a couple of years in marquette we got 300" which was a lot.   i think houghton topped out around 450".

great grouse hunting close by in rabbit bay area.  a bit further east toward baraga you can go up to point abbaye and there were was good grouse habitat there.  

Looks like for the month of December they are averaging nearly 3" of snow per day.

The Keweenaw Brewing Company has great beer, and only $2.75 a pint!

As a former Yooper who lived in Marquette for about 15 years, I'll give my two cents...

I've been to Houghton a few times and my family was looking at a job there earlier this year but that fell through.  Beautiful area and would love to go back to the U.P.

Winters are harsh, yes.  But I'll give you the Jim Harbaugh advice--attack winter with an enthusiam unknown to mankind.  Winters are long, cold, and sometimes you might not have a sunny day for weeks.  You can either sit inside and complain and get depressed or you can learn to get outdoors and enjoy the white stuff.  I bought a pair of snowshoes and would take my dogs out on zero degree days in the middle of a snow storm and they loved it (and so did I).  Snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, hockey, whatever...find something to do.

In terms of finding a place, most of the U.P. is safe.  In Marquette I never really worried about a "bad side" to town.  Maybe areas I wouldn't live in because they're more student housing/rentals, but that's about it.  It really is the type of place you never have to lock your doors or worry about it if you forget.

One thing I would suggest is definitely thinking about country/small town vs. "city" living (I use that term loosely because Houghton is only like 7,500 population).  When I first moved back to Marquette I lived 20 miles south out in the woods.  Lovely area, however totally inconvenient.  Everything I wanted to do was in town, from shops, doctors, going kayaking on the lake or whatever.  Cell phone coverage isn't always good outside of town and no high speed internet in many small areas, too.  If you have kids, schools are a lot further away.  In small towns, schools don't have the amenities or budgets that schools in Houghton do.  That's not to say they are bad but something to think about.  I know Marquette schools had more options than say the schools in Gwinn.  Not to mention in winter, that 20 mile drive can become a LOT longer and more dangerous when you're driving home through a winter storm.  I would suggest living closer to work than further away until you're used to the area and conditions.  Highly recommend a vehicle with four-wheel drive.

Hope that helps. Good luck

I have lived in the UP all my life, with exception of going to grad school at UM with my wife (who is also a Yooper).  Basically, Houghton is a great town, as long as you like winter.  It is the home of Michigan Tech University and can be a bit of a college town in the fall/winter months.  MTU has plenty of cultural events, with the highlight being their MTU Winter Fest and ice sculptures.

Summers are moderate, with winds always blowing across the Keweenaw.  You are close to Marquette for shopping, but everything else is a one way trip.  Now, for winter.  Be prepared for snow.  Lots of snow.  Houghton is hilly with many one-way streets.  Get something with 4-wheel or all-wjeel drive.  Invest in SNOW TIRES in the winter.  They only get used in the winter, but will save your life by being dedicated to winter conditions.  Don't even think about trying to go all-season tires, at least until you become accostomed to winter driving.  Drive slowly.  You need twice to three times the stopping distance in the winter, especially when slush is on the roads.

Mt. Bohemia (or the Porcupine Mountains/Marquette Mountain) are wonderful hills for skiing.  The rest of the UP is littered with ski hills, as well.  Cross country skiing is fabulous in the Keweenaw.  Look at rummage sales for cheap sets of skis and snowshoes, before purchasing new.  You will find them easily and save yourself a lot of money.

Get ready for the accent.  The Yooper accent.  We throw out words because they don't add anything to the conversation, like "Go show?" is an entire sentence (meaning, "Do you want to go to the movies?").  'Eh is the ending to most sentences.  Don't call yourself a Yooper until you have two or three generations living here.  We don't like trolls or FIBs.  We like beer.  We like to hunt and fish and sit in saunas (pronounced SOW NA).

Basically, enjoy the UP.  If you need anything, I am in Iron Mountain and just a message away.  My Mom lives in Wakefield and in-laws in White Pine (grab a map to find them) and we travel through the Keweenaw every year (sometimes several times on our way to Copper Harbor).

When moving, the first place I think of turning to is a Michigan football website. C'mon man.

Please don't inundate this website with personal requests, like 'I'm in (city XYZ), how can I watch the game?', 'Is there an alumni bar in Istanbul', or 'what kind of countertops?'.  

You're not special, and your situation isn't special.  A lot of people on here have made a lot bigger moves without having to ask for the board's help.

Advice on moving to Houghton:

Don't 

I would definitely look in to the Little Huskies day care. It's an outpost of the Ann Arbor-based Gretchen's House chain, which we've been very happy with for our kids. 

http://www.gretchenshouse.com/centers/gh-little-huskies/

We had so many Yooper MGoBloggers. That makes me happy. I'm assuming you all love Michigan and love the Packers, eh?

I recommend Bleacher's

Look at Track and Field records to see if the name "Sharik" is still on there.

Thanks in advance.

/s

Born and raised in Calumet/Laurium. About 12 miles north of Hancock. While I live/work in the Chicago area, that area has always been home and we go back multiple times per year. Heading up in two weeks. 

Here is my two cents;

1. While Houghton/Hancock get their fair share of snow, they are somewhat protected by the valley formed by the Portage Canal and Portage Lake. If you head north up the hill from Hancock, you'll head toward Calumet and Laurium, which get much more snow than down in the valley. 

2. Take up XC skiing and mountain biking. Some of the best trails in the U.S. for XC skiing;

Michigan Tech Trails - http://www.michigantechrecreation.com/trails/forest/index

Swedetown in Calumet - http://www.swedetowntrails.org/

Maasto Hiihto/Churning Rapids - http://www.cityofhancock.com/recreation-maasto.php

Once the snow melts (some say...IF it melts) they are great trails for mountain biking, running, hiking, etc. 

3. I don't know how young your kids are, but I would recommend looking for a place along the Portage Canal or Portage Lake. Like I said, less snow than up on the plateau, and you can then take advantage of boating, fishing, kayaking, swimming, etc. A great area is to go south of Houghton on Route 41 toward the town of Chassell. Also check out the north side of the Portage Canal toward Dollar Bay, Lake Linden as others have noted here. The schools will be smaller of course than they would be in Houghton or Hancock but still very good education. 

4. Since I plan on retiring back home, I use some of the following resources to search for either a house or property to build my own place. 

http://www.zillow.com/houghton-mi/

http://www.keweenawrealestate.com/realtors.php

http://listings.statewideofhoughton.com/idx/featured

http://century21northcountry.idxbroker.com/idx/results/listings?csv_listingID=&city%5B%5D=21943&zipcode%5B%5D=&lp=&hp=&pt=1&ccz=city&a_streetNumber=&aw_streetName=

5. Pasties

Connies - https://www.yelp.com/biz/connies-kitchen-calumet?osq=Pasties

Roy's - https://www.yelp.com/biz/roys-pasties-and-bakery-houghton

Toni's Country Kitchen - https://www.yelp.com/biz/tonis-country-kitchen-laurium?osq=Pasties (they close in the winter and head to his place in the south of France) 

6. Keweenaw Brewing Company or KBC for short. They have a tasting house in downtown Houghton. 

7. Vollwerth meats - I'm partial since my brother-in-law runs it, but the summer sausage is out of this world. You can find their products in most every grocery store in the area. http://www.vollwerth.com/

8. I mentioned fishing briefly above, but you have so many great choices. Salmon, Lake Trout or Whitefish on Lake Superior (yes, the ice does melt). Walleye, Northern Pike, Bass on Portage Lake, Torch Lake or other inland lakes. Brook trout in the many rivers/streams, and Rainbow trout and Salmon at the mouth of the rivers that flow into Lake Superior. 

9. A lot of nice beaches. City beaches along the canal in both Houghton and Hancock as well as along Portage Lake toward Chassell. Despite rocky shorelines, you can find some nice sandy beaches on Lake Superior; Great Sand Bay between Eagle River and Eagle Harbor. Big and Little Traverse Bay on the east side of the Keweenaw Peninsula. McClain State Park between Hancock and Calumet. Calumet Waterworks Park. 

10. Michigan Tech Winter Carnival. Your kids will love it. 

11. I've only covered items in the Keweenaw, but there are plenty of other great times to be had for your family all across the U.P. Here is a quick reference of many of them; https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g5414977-Activities-Upper_Peninsula_Michigan.html

You are going to love it there.  My daughter is working towards an engineering degree so we've been there dozens of times.  Our family is from the eastern end of the UP.  You have great restaurants, Ambassoder for one up there, someone mentioned the Library, awesome as well.  But so many more.  Hancock has a bunch as well, then you have the porcupine mountains to the south west, amaizing stuff there.  You can't go wrong hitting the Gay Bar in Gay, MI.  Obvs, Copper Harbor, Eagle Harbor, Isle Royale.  Side story, the bartenders are awesome, I always get a pic with my bartender.  So its different from auburn hills where you ask for a pic and the bartender says, I don't do pics.  We are friendly up here, welcome to the family.  

Disclaimer, if I have misspelled a word  or used the wrong comma, don't shoot me, Thanks in advance.  Go Blue!

Now this is after blizzard conditions the last three days. Calumet schools were closed all three days, but as you can see, the Tech campus in Houghton is in pretty good shape. 

That pic was taken from one of the Tech buildings looking west toward downtown Houghton. On the right is the Portage Canal. You can also see the lift bridge that traverses the canal to Hancock.